Horsford introduces bill to decriminalize marijuana
Source: Nevada Appeal
Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., has introduced legislation that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
States that have voted to legalize marijuana for medical and/or recreational use should not fear federal agents raiding their businesses and intimidating their citizens, Horsford said.
He said the bill doesnt force states to legalize pot but would simply direct the Attorney General to remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances and put it under the federal Alcohol Administration Act.
That would allow the treasury secretary to regulate the import, shipping and sales of pot in interstate or foreign commerce.
Read more: http://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/local/11679150-113/marijuana-states-bill-federal
Please contact Democrat, Steven Horsford, to support him in this bill.
Also contact your state representative to indicate your support for Horsford's bill.
Things are happening!
Link to representative's names and contact info: http://www.house.gov/representatives/
Link to Horsford: http://horsford.house.gov/
RainDog
(28,784 posts)The Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act (H.R. 499) directs the Attorney General to remove marijuana from all schedules of controlled substances under the Controlled Substances Act, and instead puts it under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. Under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act, the Secretary of the Treasury will regulate importing, shipping or selling in interstate or foreign commerce, purchasing for resale, producing, packaging, or warehousing marijuana. The bill also protects states rights by allowing them to regulate marijuana as they wish, at the local level.
http://www.ktvn.com/story/25683994/rep-horsford-co-sponsors-bill-to-decriminalize-marijuana-at-federal-level
This was initially introduced in 2013 by Jared Polis: http://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/499
H.R. 499 would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, leaving it up to the states to decide whether to allow marijuana for medicinal or recreational use.
Specifically, the bill would:
Remove marijuana from the list of federally controlled substances;
Transfer the Drug Enforcement Administrations authority to regulate marijuana to a newly renamed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Marijuana and Firearms, which will be tasked with regulating marijuana as it currently does alcohol; and
Require marijuana producers and sellers to purchase a permit, as commercial alcohol producers do, of which the proceeds would offset the cost of federal oversight.
States could choose to continue to prohibit marijuana production or use, and it would remain illegal to transport marijuana to a state where it is prohibited.
H.R. 499 is based on a measure proposed in the last Congress by then-Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA). Rep. Franks bill marked the first attempt to entirely eliminate the federal criminalization of marijuana.
Previous decriminalization proposals were limited to possession of marijuana for personal use, possession of small amounts, or use for medicinal purposes. In the 1970s, Rep. Ed Koch (D-NY) introduced a spate of marijuana-related bills, following a 1972 report from the National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse (NCMDA) that recommended ending the federal marijuana prohibition. In 1973 he filed a bill that would make it legal to possess marijuana for personal use or distribute it for non-profit purposes. Corresponding legislation was filed in the Senate by Sen. Jacob Javits (D-NY). In the subsequent Congress, Rep. Koch proposed a bill to treat possession of marijuana in small amounts for personal use or transfer without profit as a civil offense rather than a crime.
Legislative decriminalization efforts came to a halt in the 1980s, but resumed in 1997, when Rep. Frank introduced a bill to allow medical use of marijuana. He subsequently proposed a bill to eliminate federal crime penalties for possession or non-profit transfer of small amounts of marijuana.
None of the proposals to end or amend the federal marijuana prohibition have ever made it to a vote on the House or Senate floor. Here at GovTrack we give the current bill a two percent chance of getting out of committee and a one percent chance of being enacted (see here for an explanation of our methodology in computing these probabilities).
Below is a list of bills that have been introduced to either end or amend the federal criminalization of marijuana:
HOUSE
1973 (93rd Congress): A bill to amend certain provisions of the Controlled Substances Act relating to marijuana (reintroduced in the same Congress as H.R. 6570, H.R. 11210, H.R. 17550)
1975 (94th Congress): A bill to amend certain provisions of the Controlled Substances Act relating to marijuana (reintroduced in the same Congress as H.R. 4520)
1975 (94th Congress): Marihuana Control Act (reintroduced in the same Congress as H.R. 6876, H.R. 8984, H.R. 10801, H.R. 12425, H.R. 12886)
1977 (95th Congress): Marihuana Control Act (reintroduced in the same Congress as H.R. 4736, H.R. 4737)
1981 (97th Congress): A bill to provide for the therapeutic use of marijuana in situations involving life-threatening illnesses and to provide adequate supplies of marijuana for such use
1997 (105th Congress): Medical Use of Marijuana Act
1999 (106th Congress): Medical Use of Marijuana Act
2001 (107th Congress): States Rights to Medical Marijuana Act (reintroduced in the same Congress as H.R. 2592)
2003 (108th Congress): States Rights to Medical Marijuana Act
2005 (109th Congress): States Rights to Medical Marijuana Act
2008 (110th Congress): Act to Remove Federal Penalties for the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults
2009 (111th Congress): Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2009
2008 (110th Congress): Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act
2009 (111th Congress): Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act
2011 (112th Congress): States Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act
2013 (113th Congress): States Medical Marijuana Patient Protection Act
SENATE
1973 (93rd Congress): A bill to amend certain provisions of the Controlled Substances Act relating to marijuana
fizzgig
(24,146 posts)polis is my rep, so i know it's got his support and i'm pretty sure my senators would support it, as well. it's far past time that we do this.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)Here's another related issue.
The Senate needs to vote on an bill with an amendment to defund the DEA's raids on state-legal medical marijuana facilities. People can call their Senators to let them know we do not want to arrest people for using cannabis as medicine.
more info-
Here's a link to an online letter from MPP
The link above is to the Marijuana Policy Project Page with a letter to sign and send to your Senator in support of defunding the DEA's raids on legal medical marijuana facilities.
More than half of the states in the U.S. now have medical marijuana provisions. It's time for the federal government to respond to the will of the voter regarding marijuana's legal status.
This letter is one way to get them to respond.
Or you can find your Senator's contact information here: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Thanks!
TeamPooka
(24,254 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)at this time will create some good news.
It wouldn't seem quite right for Congress to allow D.C. to have decriminalized marijuana while states are still subject to federal law.
So, maybe this is good timing.
Let's hope!
TeamPooka
(24,254 posts)seems to be spreading like a virus.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)...is rational law.
TeamPooka
(24,254 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)struggle4progress
(118,342 posts)nomorenomore08
(13,324 posts)Throd
(7,208 posts)nikto
(3,284 posts)RainDog
(28,784 posts)the last thing I said related to him was how annoyed I was when people were saying rude things about his g.f. to attack him. I said - off limits. Or should be. ---that's not part of my world here at DU - too much static to noise.
it's my understanding, tho, there's a current kerfluffle - but I don't know the particulars and, after recent experiences - I don't know that I want to know them. lol. I just don't want to get caught in the crossfire or have to dodge stray bullets.
but here's some Junior Brown for all that
joshcryer
(62,276 posts)wildbilln864
(13,382 posts)SoapBox
(18,791 posts)Great...a nation of stoners...like there aren't enough of them already.
RainDog
(28,784 posts)Other than their insider political status. Honestly.
The joke is that they know the sky has not fallen in California, despite nearly 20 years of legal medical marijuana, three years of decriminalized marijuana. Some Californians don't want legal marijuana because they don't want to negatively impact their profits. I cannot justify putting people in jail over something that's less dangerous as a substance than alcohol. Makes absolutely no sense to me to target one substance and leave the other alone, when the other has far more health concerns.
States can set their own laws regarding cannabis.
We just won't pay the federal government to enforce laws the majority of the population does not want.
Those states that want to maintain the prohibition status quo will find it harder to attract people in various fields that are significant for the economy - like tech.
Entire families have moved to Colorado to be able to simply and safely access medical cannabis. People will not choose to live in states that maintain this war on the American people if they can afford to move.
States that tax and regulate will generate revenue to put toward education and health.
Yeah, that would be scary...
Uncle Joe
(58,420 posts)Thanks for the thread, RainDog.
IronLionZion
(45,528 posts)Prisoner_Number_Six
(15,676 posts)Whisper the words "tax stamp" into a politician's ear and everything changes!
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)this passes and we could retroactively release all pot related prison sentences. It never should have been illegal to even sell pot...and certainly not to use it.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)[img][/img]
RainDog
(28,784 posts)2.3 million in jail... manufacturers sent jobs overseas and the for-profit prison industry has created a new economy that replicates older forms of persecution for minorities.
Politicians agree to minimum occupancy rates to lure prisons to build in their states, then pass laws to meet that minimum. The only nation even close to the U.S. is Russia. No wonder the right wing in this nation likes Russia so much these days. Gulags and prisons aren't just for cold warriors.
LVdem
(524 posts)Smokin'...
RainDog
(28,784 posts)to saner law. Let's hope.